Dendenmushi is one word for snail in Japanese and this is a play about a yamabushi (an
itinerant Shinto mystic) being mistaken for a snail.
A certain lord is keen to get hold of a snail to use in some tonic to promote long life, which he
intends as a gift for his uncle. He orders his foolish servant, Taro-Raja tot find some
"dendenmushr'. The lord describes the appearance of the dendenmushi to the ignorant Taro, who
sets off to look for some. He finds a great big one asleep under a thicket in the garden, and the
comedy begins...